Gold14:

Golden Rule 14

Your dialogue must be believable

Your book could rise or fall on the strength and credibility of your dialogue. Read the quotes aloud and make sure they sound convincing. Don't put speeches into the mouths of your characters but try to make them have realistic conversations.

Avoid giving them words to say that do not fit in with their background. An exaggerated example: a shelf stacker in a supermarket would be unlikely in most instances to be using five-syllable words and discussing Einstein's theory of relativity. Likewise, a nuclear scientist would be most unlikely to be discussing a punk rock record.

Put yourself in the place of your reader and ask yourself whether what is being said by the characters sounds feasible and believable. You can move the plot along by clever use of dialogue, but try not to make it obvious that you are pushing the storyline or the subplot along. All dialogue should come across as being natural and not forced.

It is also important to make sure they are factually accurate when in conversation. You will quickly lose your credibility with the publisher and reader if you have characters spouting incorrect facts, unless of course it is deliberate to help point up a specific character's ignorance.

The danger with dialogue is that when you are into your stride it is easy to write conversationally, and you run the risk of putting down quotes for the sake of it rather than because they are necessary to the thrust of the story. While reading your work back to yourself be disciplined and vigilant when determining whether the dialogue sits comfortably in the story. If in doubt, edit out.

No matter what, do not let your characters waffle. You are in sole command of their verbal exchanges, and remember that it is a cardinal sin to let them go on and on. They can quickly become tiresome, just like the bores you try to avoid in the bar. Never, never, never bore your reader.

You must decide whether your characters are going to use accents and dialect. If your main character is a Scot, judge for yourself whether you should have him saying "awa' wi' ye , Jimmy, or I'll gie ye the heid" ... or write 'he said in a strong Scottish accent, "away with you, Jimmy, or I'll give you the head."' The second example leaves it to your reader to provide the accent in his/her mind.

I used cod English when I wrote the comedy novel Carry On England, with Henry the Eighth saying 'doth' instead of does, 'maketh' instead of makes, and with lots of thees and thous. One critic described the dialogue as "nonsensical", and was probably right. I got it wrong because I did not follow my own rule of reading the quotes aloud. I did cocketh it up.

It is no longer necessary to keep dropping "he said" or "she said" after every quote. Once you have the back-and-forth conversation into a smooth rhythm the reader will know which character is speaking.

If it is a long conversation break it up with some "stage directions": John lit a cigarette and took a quick draw before continuing .... Joan's hands wrestled nervously in her lap, and then she added ...

You can also move your characters along during a conversation: John said, as he turned into Main Street and started the long search for a free parking space ...

Above all, make the dialogue worth reading. Now prepare to meet somebody with whom you will be having some real and interesting conversations during your project. Golden Rule No 15 revolves around your Editor.

Golden Rule No 14 is to make your characters have believable conversations not make speeches.